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Starlionblue

Re: Airbus descent procedure?

Why does your speed start climbing in OP DES? The elevator should be adjusting to maintain the target speed. No, I think that is my error. I must have meant DES, not OP DES. Sorry. If (probably due to ATC instructions) I am a bit 'behind' in my descent, the a/c will try to catch up in DES mode, and...

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Starlionblue

Re: Why do different cities in India have different transition altitudes?

I was always told from my flight Safety classes many many years a go the the US. uses 18,000' because it's half the atmosphere=500mb. When I went to the airlines I don't remember them saying much except the separate levels in Europe and other places. The oddest was Almaty, KZ where you descended on...

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Starlionblue

Re: Why do different cities in India have different transition altitudes?

I was always told from my flight Safety classes many many years a go the the US. uses 18,000' because it's half the atmosphere=500mb. When I went to the airlines I don't remember them saying much except the separate levels in Europe and other places. The oddest was Almaty, KZ where you descended on...

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Starlionblue

Re: Airbus descent procedure?

You'd pull for OPEN DES if you're in a hurry. Yes, that makes sense of course. I get worried though when, having gone over to OP DES from DES, the XP a/c can get to -5000ft/min, or even more. Then the speed starts climbing of course - adding drag is no help then. How does that compare to real-world...

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Starlionblue

Re: VFR question regarding US Airspace: Class D and Charlie

Once again, it is nearly always the best practice in the US to be participating in the ATC system. It costs you nothing and can save you and everyone around you a ton of headaches. Unless you're flying something without an electrical system, there is just no excuse to not have a code in your transp...

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Starlionblue

Re: VFR question regarding US Airspace: Class D and Charlie

I don't hear as much slang from controllers, mostly from pilots. Then again, I've only flown in the US, so maybe what I consider normal is way out of ICAO spec. "Out of ICAO spec" indeed. So much this. Pretty much anywhere else in the world, standard phraseology is used almost exclusively...

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Starlionblue

Re: VFR question regarding US Airspace: Class D and Charlie

I love watching youtube videos of ATC recordings and the difference being local makes vs being from elsewhere. Main thing is 4 digit flight numbers spoken in street language vs official language. AAL 2550 pronounced American twentyfive fifty vs American two five five zero You almost have to be a na...

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Starlionblue

Re: Airbus descent procedure?

. I do try to descend in DES mode as far as possible, to match the altitude restraints. (I realise though as I write this that I am not at all sure in fact when or why a pilot would choose OP DES instead of DES + selected speed?). ... I am never quite sure whether to reset speed restraints 'on the ...

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Starlionblue

Re: VFR question regarding US Airspace: Class D and Charlie

It's also a good idea to call them up if you plan to fly over the top. A local airport here has a D going up to 2500 with a B shelf starting at 3000. Someone flew through the E at 2700 over the D and tower was not impressed. Technically legal, but poor form. The tower can be unimpressed all they wa...

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Starlionblue

Re: Why do different cities in India have different transition altitudes?

AFAIK, the reason ATC sets a transition level is due to QNH variations. The TL at any given time would be on the ATIS. Many places have a "normal" published TL, but also different TLs for very high and very low QNH. HKG is an example with a normal TL of FL110, but if the QNH is 797 or belo...

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Starlionblue

Re: Airbus descent procedure?

You don't need to go from DES to OP DES to slow down. Just go to selected speed. OP DES will descend you at idle, so use that to increase descent rate. The higher the speed, the higher the descent rate. And there's always the speedbrake. In the real world, the one thing you always have to watch for ...

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

Also, if you enter a Direct To in the FM and insert, and you're in HDG, NAV will automatically activate, and as before the heading selection will go blank on the FCU. This does lead to the call "ready to pull for heading?" if you're programming an intercept, but it at least spares you fro...

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Starlionblue

Re: Airbus descent procedure?

"It's complicated." :) As mentioned above, there's a deceleration point automatically programmed in the flight plan at 10000ft. It shows as an amber ball on the green track line on the ND. Speed will be managed or selected. If it is managed, the deceleration point will be respected. If sel...

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Starlionblue

Re: ETOPS certification of passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft

Yeah, but as mentioned above, they can go 180 minutes before they need ETOPS, meaning they don't need it at all, so it's a bit of a moot point. If they needed to go beyond 180 minutes, e.g. ETOPS207, the limiting factor might well be cargo fire suppression capability, just as with twins. Not so for...

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Starlionblue

Re: ETOPS certification of passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft

As I understand it, ETOPS/EDTO limits are very much dependent on cargo fire suppression capability. Why would they? There are plenty of MD-11Fs and 747Fs flying around with no fire suppression systems and without any regard to ETOPS requirements. Yeah, but as mentioned above, they can go 180 minute...

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Starlionblue

Re: ETOPS certification of passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft

As I understand it, ETOPS/EDTO limits are very much dependent on cargo fire suppression capability.

The remaining engine will most likely operate until it runs out of oil and fuel.

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Starlionblue

Re: ETOPS certification of passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft

Fair point, and the same is valid at my operator. But this doesn't remove EDTO. It simply moves the ETOPS/EDTO threshold from 60 to 180 minutes for aircraft with more than two engines.

Of course, this thread started specifically discussing a twin.

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Starlionblue

Re: ETOPS certification of passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft

Many variables in play here. Is ETOPS required for freight? I don't think it is, but I might be all wet. It might be a local requirement for certain freighters. The A/C that kept ETOPS during conversion may be subject to leasing terms, where the residual value of the A/C is less without the ETOPS c...

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Starlionblue

Re: Non-Operational Reasons That Seats Might Be Held Back From Sale (United Express)

8500ft length at 5500ft elevation … no problem on a good day but will have significant weight restrictions with winter weather conditions. Could be a contributing factor. What would be limiting about winter weather? Too good performance of engines and wings? Runway friction coefficient is a thing, ...

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Starlionblue

Re: The manufacturing of the current 767

As GalaxyFlyer says, upgrades are common. For example, our newer A330s ("newer" meaning made after about 2007) have upgraded standby instrumentation, FM, displays, and many other bits and bobs. Older frames also get upgrades during their service like, for example with RNP AR capability. An...

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Starlionblue

Re: Aircraft starting to climb after a long time

There is no danger as long as there are no terrain clearance issues.

The only significant consideration is higher fuel burn at lower altitude, but a few minutes won't make a difference.

The typical reason to be kept low is for traffic.

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

I guess all planes have their traps, but I never got that "feature" on Boeing. Is there any reason the heading bug isn't automatically to the current heading while in LNAV? Sometimes it is useful to be able to "pre-select" a heading when still in LNAV. At my home airport a commo...

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

HDG knob has “push to sync” there for a reason. Push, then select HDG mode. I guess all planes have their traps, but I never got that "feature" on Boeing. Is there any reason the heading bug isn't automatically to the current heading while in LNAV? On Airbus, the heading selection in the ...

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

These days, an overeliance on automatics seems to be much more of an issue than an under reliance. Asiana 214 and two Emirates incidents have demonstrated this. AF 447 also involved poor manual flying skill in a crisis situation. I would categorize Asiana 214 and Emirates 521 more as "incomple...

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

There were two China Airlines (Taiwan) A300 accidents that might apply here. IIRC, one was at Nagoya in the spring of 1994 and another at Taipei (TPE) somewhat later. NGO: https://simpleflying.com/china-airlines-flight-140-crash-story/ TPE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_676 I ...

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

I seem to remember some Airbus incident wayyyyy back in the 90s outside of Moscow, repeated stalls of the aircraft as the crew fought against the automation. I remember it being attributed to the crew not understand the aircraft was actually right and that they shouldn’t have fought the computers. ...

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Starlionblue

Re: Pilot/auotopilot incedents

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse. " - Chris Hadfield. I don't know if these fit your requirements exactly, but certainly they are accidents where misunderstanding automatics was a major factor. In the first two, reverting to less automated modes would most likely have c...

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Starlionblue

Re: Question about Saudia flight 163

There were many problems with crew communication and crew management that resulted in this accident becoming a teaching example. One of the many things that the F/E did incorrect was to mismanage the pressurization such that the airplane remained pressurized after landing. This made it impossible t...

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Starlionblue

Re: Boeing / Airbus - factory options?

There must be hundreds. On the A330, just to name a few: - GLS - ADF - Go-around soft - Auto TCAS - Avionics bay portable extinguisher - Brake cooling fans - Cockpit foot warmer - Datalink - Gaseous vs chemical oxygen system - Taxi camera - Runway awareness and advisory system - Alternate nosewheel...

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Starlionblue

Re: Boeing / Airbus - factory options?

There must be hundreds. On the A330, just to name a few: - GLS - ADF - Go-around soft - Auto TCAS - Avionics bay portable extinguisher - Brake cooling fans - Cockpit foot warmer - Datalink - Gaseous vs chemical oxygen system - Taxi camera - Runway awareness and advisory system - Alternate nosewheel ...

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Starlionblue

Re: Question about Saudia flight 163

If there's anything that keeps pilots up at night, it's the thought of a cargo fire. I hate to judge the dead. Pilots go to work intending to do the best they can. But in this case, it seems fairly clear that none of the flight crew had adequate situational awareness, and their CRM was atrocious. A ...

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Starlionblue

Re: A380-841/842 Takeoff Thrust Procedure

The Trent 900s on the A380 have an area of the thrust curve that cannot be exceeded when aircraft speed is too low. Depending on the take-off thrust setting, this often results in two 'pauses' during spool up. The first is the pilots stabilising all 4 engines at ~30% thrust, the second pause is the...

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Starlionblue

Re: A380-841/842 Takeoff Thrust Procedure

The Trent 900s on the A380 have an area of the thrust curve that cannot be exceeded when aircraft speed is too low. Depending on the take-off thrust setting, this often results in two 'pauses' during spool up. The first is the pilots stabilising all 4 engines at ~30% thrust, the second pause is the...

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Starlionblue

Re: A380-841/842 Takeoff Thrust Procedure

I'll add that with a tailwind or crossind above 20 knots, the A350 thrust setting procedure is bit more involved. - Initially move the thrust levers from idle to the position that gives 25% thrust*. - Once thrust is stabilised, progressively move the thrust levers to reach the following: --- At 20 k...

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Starlionblue

Re: A380-841/842 Takeoff Thrust Procedure

It seems to me as if the PF is just taking a bit longer than usual to go to FLX or TOGA from the first intermediate setting. For takeoff, you set the thrust levers to an intermediate setting (e.g. 1.1EPR on the A330 and 25% on the A350), then wait a second or so in order for the thrust to stabilise....

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Starlionblue

Re: 787 vs A330 Runway Performance/Requirements

As much as we would like to have very precise data, my impression is that even using an app or other electronically calculated data, there is still conservatism factored into the calculations. At many operators, passenger and luggage weights are still either estimated or seasonally averaged. In the...

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Starlionblue

Re: 787 vs A330 Runway Performance/Requirements

Pilots are conservative creatures and in the decades gone by where we did on occasion use charts, there was excessive rounding up and intercalation. As much as we would like to have very precise data, my impression is that even using an app or other electronically calculated data, there is still co...

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Starlionblue

Re: International Flights' Listed Alternate Airport Questions

When the dispatcher or flight planner sends out the release/flight plan, the alternate(s) he selects get appended automatically to the ATC strip. Most controllers probably dont read it or notice but the alternate does get filed with ATC. In some instances, flight plans can be rejected by ATC becaus...

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Starlionblue

Re: 787 vs A330 Runway Performance/Requirements

Other than perhaps Air Koryo, I doubt there is any airline in the world where paper charts are used for performance planning. Even with the detailed performance engineering graphs/charts we have for our Boeing fleet, it would take me 5 minutes or more to work out the figures which can be done more ...

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Starlionblue

Re: 787-10 floor vibration

It can be run the entire trip. But if we want to get nitpicky, so can the APU on other aircraft. Do any airliners/bizjets that are still altitude restricted? Probably. :) Also, you have to more closely define "altitude restricted". For example, on the A330, you can run the APU the whole f...

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Starlionblue

Re: 787-10 floor vibration

The 787 is much closer to a more-electric aircraft than most other models. This means that rather than distributing power in the form of bleed air or hydraulics, it distributes electricity from the much more powerful engine generators, to numerous electric devices running throughout the aircraft. T...

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Starlionblue

Re: 787 vs A330 Runway Performance/Requirements

I would think manufacturer charts are for best case situation in terms of runway performance. Actually, Boeing chart specifically shows what flaps settings are being used at which conditions, so they must have some idea about flaps effect. If you choose to trade in longer roll for less engine wear ...

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Starlionblue

Re: International Flights' Listed Alternate Airport Questions

Some random points: A filed alternate is not required. You can dispatch without one, but the dispatch requirements are different. The point of filing an alternate is for planning and is part of generating a minimum fuel figure. If you fly without an alternate, for example with "Island Reserve&q...

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Starlionblue

Re: 787-10 floor vibration

The 787 is much closer to a more-electric aircraft than most other models. This means that rather than distributing power in the form of bleed air or hydraulics, it distributes electricity from the much more powerful engine generators, to numerous electric devices running throughout the aircraft. T...

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Starlionblue

Re: FE on B-747-100, DC-10 and L-1011

I guess they would have been mechanically linked as well, I always marvel at the complexity of the old electro-mechanical flight decks. Either mechanically linked, or servolinked. Either way as you say rather complex. In particular, ADIs with mechanical flight director bars have always fascinated m...

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Starlionblue

Re: FE on B-747-100, DC-10 and L-1011

Found a picture of the VC10 - interesting 2163856 Great picture Just in front of the Flight Engineer’s set of throttles on the left side of his desk is a transparent cover that can be opened Underneath are the engine start switches and several warning lights, another unique feature I guess they wou...

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Starlionblue

Re: FE on B-747-100, DC-10 and L-1011

If you're a VC-10 buff, or just an "ops with FE" buff, there's a really interesting documentary about BOAC cadet and induction training around 1970 on YouTube. The initial sim conversion and base training bits are particularly good, starting around the 23-minute mark. There is definitely m...

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Starlionblue

Re: FE on B-747-100, DC-10 and L-1011

The three man 767 certainly had thrust levers ! Ahh Max, your posts always brighten my day. I'm sure you're joking, as I was referring to the FE having thrust levers, not the entire cockpit :lol: When did the navigator position end? I know some early 707's had them I believe. Trans Caribbean had na...

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Starlionblue

Re: FE on B-747-100, DC-10 and L-1011

Some pics of the 767 cockpit with FE panel. The one with the screen is Ansett I think. https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/9/1/8/0238819.jpg https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/9/2/9/0221929.jpg https://travelupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Ansett-Boeing-767-277-Flight-E...

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Starlionblue

Re: FE on B-747-100, DC-10 and L-1011

Some pics of the 767 cockpit with FE panel. The one with the screen is Ansett I think. https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/9/1/8/0238819.jpg https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/9/2/9/0221929.jpg https://travelupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Ansett-Boeing-767-277-Flight-En...

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